A major concern for an operator of a wireless communications network such as a mobile telephony network is to ensure that the network provides good coverage. In this context, it has been seen that loss of coverage and other network problems are often related to installation problems in the network.
For example, a feeder degradation of only a few dB in a Base Station can seriously affect both the uplink and the downlink coverage, which is a problem since coverage is directly related to revenue for the operator of the network.
To locate a problem or an imperfection in an installation in a network is very difficult at present. Problems such as, for example, the mentioned feeder degradation of a few dBs, can be almost impossible to find and may thus remain unnoticed by the operator for along time. This situation is sometimes made worse due to the fact that operators tend to reuse sites for different technologies, and sometimes reuse the same equipment.